Identical twin toddlers become TV stars on BBC's Call the Midwife after their lives were saved by Milton Keynes hospital

Identical twin boys whose lives were saved by Milton Keynes hospital have made their successful debut as child actors on BBC’s Call the Midwife series.

City two-year-olds Wyatt and Finley Wilfort starred in episode seven of the latest series, playing a toddler who had to be taken into foster care because his family were living as squatters after their caravan home was taken.

Their mum Stuetina Avery Hawkins said the boys were “amazing” on set and behaved beautiful during the long routines.

Identical twins are popular with producers as the law dictates child actors can only work a few hours at a time. When youngsters look the same, they can be swapped to double production time.

Little Wyatt and Finley developed quite a bond with their screen parents and midwife Nancy (Megan Cusack) and enjoyed the experience, said Stuetina.

But the pint-sized pair are lucky to be here at all after their rocky start while they were still in their mum’s womb.

Early in the pregnancy, Stuetina was diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), which meant the blood vessels in the shared placenta were not evenly dispersed and there was an imbalance in the blood exchange between the twins.

One twin was giving away more blood than it received, risking malnourishment and organ failure. This is known as the 'donor twin'.

Meanwhile the other twin, known as the recipient twin, received too much blood and risked heart problems. If untreated, the TTTS survival chance is as low as 10 per cent for both babies,

Stuetina underwent surgery at just 17 weeks pregnant, when the twins were each the size of an orange, and doctors performed as endoscopic laser ablation inside her womb to correct the placenta's imbalance.

But later Stuetina's placenta ruptured and in June 2020, the babies were delivered by doctors at MK hospital as an emergency at 30 weeks gestation, weighing just 2lb 3oz and 3lb. They spent eight weeks in the neonatal unit until they were strong enough to come home.

Today, the pair and happy, healthy and “very cheeky”, said their mum, who has two older daughters.

She is a huge fan of Call the Midwife and jumped at the chance of offering the twins, who are with Jam2000 agency, when she heard that toddlers were needed.

"We visited different places from Chatham Dockyard or Chertsey. The boys shared the role which was great, some days where very long as they split them up as babies of that age are only allowed to be on set for five hours. It was a great experience and the other main characters were lovely,” she said.

She is now hoping their success will lead to them being snapped up by other producers. "They are going to be the future celebrities of Milton Keynes!”.

Stuetina is also hoping her boys’ stardom will benefit Milton Keynes hospital’s neonatal unit, which saved their lives after they were born.

"Without the support and help of the neonatal unit, the boys wouldn't be here so I will forever be grateful,” she said.

The unit has a wishlist on Amazon here and Stuentina and her family are encouraging people to donate.